


Rumours

by mayawrites95 (mayarox95)



Series: Wish Upon A Star [192]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Rumours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:38:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayarox95/pseuds/mayawrites95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumours have followed Emma Nolan through every aspect of her life. So what happens when the newest rumour is about her dating her best friend, Killian Jones?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rumours

_“Do you think it’s true?”_

_“I heard that he told her he loved her in the most romantic way possible.”_

_“Where can I find someone like him?”_

_“She gets all the hot guys. Graham, Neal, and now Killian? Some people have all the luck.”_

_“Can you blame them though? Look at her! She’s gorgeous! It doesn’t help that she’s rich. She’s basically got the whole package.”_

_“I wish I was her.”_

It was hard pretending not to hear the murmurs as she walked by. At seventeen, Emma Nolan was more than used to hearing people gossiping about her. Her family was one of the richest families in New York, with her father being the CEO of a large company, and her mother being a philanthropist and CEO of another company.

If she lived a more exciting life, she knew she would be in the tabloids far more often than she was.

But that didn’t stop page six from covering stories on her, even if it ranged from something about where she had eaten for lunch, who she was wearing, or just random gossip that was completely made up.

But what caught her interest was the fact that people seemed to be gossiping over her love life. Especially because she didn’t exactly have one.

Not since she and Neal had ended their relationship a few months ago. Or more specifically, she ended when she caught the two of them in bed together.   

It had broken her heart; Neal had made her happy and loved her at a time when she didn’t know who she was aside from her parents’ money. She had confided in him, trusted him, and he had let her down.

If it weren’t for her parents, Killian, and Ruby, she would have lost herself in sadness.

Killian had been there for her since she had met him in kindergarten, and she had insisted he be her friend because he shared his toy boats. And he had been more than happy to oblige, as their friendship evolved over the years.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that he was one of her closest friends. So why the rumours had spread, she would never know. All she did know was that their school, and probably the papers soon, thought they were together.

Not that she didn’t want it to be true. Despite her past boyfriends, she had been in love with Killian for the better part of the last ten years of her life. Sure, she hadn’t known it back then, but there was something about Killian picking flowers and pecking her on the lips that caused her to fall hard.

It didn’t matter how much she loved him though. He was her closest friend, and she couldn’t lose him, not because she had feelings for him. It wasn’t worth that.

But she wasn’t going to let others think she could hear them, so she kept her head up, and walked straight to Killian’s table, and sat down beside him.

She could feel the eyes on them, and she supposed it didn’t help that Ruby and her boyfriend Victor hadn’t joined them, as they were probably busy making out behind the bleachers like usual.

“I take it you heard?” he asked, as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“You heard?” she groaned. “But you never hear any gossip! How do you know about it?”

He looked a little sheepish, “I heard some girls giggling about it earlier. It didn’t help that Neal approached me about it.”

“What did he say?” she asked, concerned.

“He basically threatened me,” he shrugged, “Wanted me to stay away from you, and that you probably could do a lot better. I told him to bugger off. He didn’t seem all that pleased; that wanker.”

She sighed, “He needs to mind his own business. It won’t help when this all blows over in a few days, and he decided that he wants to _win me back_ or some garbage like that.”

“It doesn’t need to blow over,” Killian said casually, causing her to choke. “Neal seemed to be quite bothered by it, so why don’t we keep up the charade. If it keeps him off your back, then why not?”

“You want us to pretend to date so my ex leaves me alone?” she asked, heart falling. She wasn’t sure where he was going with his statement, but she had let herself hope. “Then what, we break up after?”

“I suppose,” he shrugged. “We could just say that we cared about each other enough to stay friends. No harm, no foul. After all, is that not what friends were for?”

She should have just taken a deep breath and said no. That it was a dumb idea. She had been fine with being Killian’s friend. She could settle for that much. But to pretend to be with him, only to lose him after? She wasn’t sure she was strong enough for that.

“I can’t,” she said shakily. “I can’t pretend to love you, Killian. I can’t pretend to date you, then have to break up with you after. I need to go.”

She stood up quickly, abandoning her lunch, and ran out of the room. She could tell people were talking about her, and the rumours would probably spread soon enough that she had just been broken up with soon enough. She felt the tears stream down her face as she ran out of the school, into the yard.

“Emma wait!’ she heard Killian yell.

But she couldn’t stop. She had thrown away years of friendship because she couldn’t control her feelings. How was she supposed to function without her best friend? How could they pretend none of this just happened?

“Bloody hell, Love,” Killian said, as he caught up to her.

She refused to look at him, and he cupped her face and angled it towards his, “I’m sorry,” he told her softly, and she looked at him in confusion.

“Why are you apologising?” she asked, incredulously. “I’m the one who dropped a truth bomb on you and ran away.”

He sighed, “I’ve mucked this all up, didn’t I? Emma, I’ve been in love with you since that day you demanded to play with my toys and called yourself my best friend afterwards. I’ve loved you when you were ten, and you held my hand at my father’s funeral. I loved you when you dressed up for our first school dance, and wore that pretty pink dress. I loved you when you discovered cake at six, and got it all over your face, and when you were twelve and kissed me for a dare. I’ve loved you for most of my life. And when I found out about the rumours, I thought I could try and pull off one of those romcoms you love so much, where we pretend to date, and you realize you’ve loved me too this entire time. And if it didn’t work, we could just stay friends; no harm no foul. It was never my intention to hurt you, or let you think I could for a second pretend to love you. Because I love you, Emma Swan, with every breath I take.”

He wiped her face and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“You love me?” she asked, letting out the air she hadn’t been aware she was holding.

He nodded, and she grabbed him by his leather jacket to press her lips firmly against his. Killian’s arms roped around her waist, pulling her into him, and she felt herself melt against him.

“I love you too,” she said with a smile, when they finally pulled away.

He grinned at her as he stroked her face.

And Neal was still furious to find out they hadn’t indeed ‘broken up’, but Ruby squealed at the news when she was told. Her mother had been overjoyed, and even her father who insisted on disliking all her boyfriends out of principle, was pleased.

The rumours never stopped about the two of them, but she found that she didn’t care. Not when she had Killian at the end of the day. And she didn’t plan on ever letting him go.


End file.
